Chamber Choir

based in Bracknell, Berkshire

Sing for a healthy life

Health experts keep finding more and more reasons why singing is good for you, especially for those who have difficulty finding healthy ways
to relax and socialise after work.

The health benefits of singing are improved breathing and lung capacity, posture, listening and concentration skills, stress-busting
and pain relief. But singing with others is also great fun as showed by the popularity of TV shows such as the “Choir” and “Last Choir Standing”.

Singing in a choir could be as good for the heart as yoga, according to a study by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

Songs with long phrases achieve the same effect as breathing exercises in yoga.

Dr Bjorn Vickhoff, University of Gothenburg

Research by the University of Gothenburg

Researchers found that heartbeats synchronised and pulses increased and decreased in unison.

The team asked a group of 18-year-olds to perform three choral exercises – monotone humming,
singing a well-known hymn and chanting a slow mantra – while heart rhythm was monitored.
Results showed the music’s melody and structure were directly linked to the group’s cardiac activity.

Study lead author Dr Bjorn Vickhoff said:
“Singing regulates activity in the so-called vagus nerve which is involved
in our emotional life and our communication with others and which, for example, affects our vocal timbre.
Songs with long phrases achieve the same effect as breathing exercises in yoga.
In other words, through song we can exercise a certain control over mental states."

Researchers believe the health effects of choir-singing arise through the activity “imposing” a calm and regular breathing pattern
which has a dramatic effect on heart rate variability. This is assumed to have a favourable effect on health.
In the case of controlled breathing, the heart rate or pulse decreases when breathing out during exhalation
in order to then increase again when breathing in during inhalation.

Dr Bjorn Vickhoff added “Our hypothesis is that song is a form of regular, controlled breathing, since breathing-out exhaling occurs on the
song phrases and breathing-in inhaling between these. We already know that choral singing synchronises the singers’ muscular movements and neural
activities in large parts of the body. Now we also know that this applies to the heart, to a large extent.”